[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 198 (Monday, November 15, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1237]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        IN RECOGNITION OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL ALEXANDER JEFFERSON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RASHIDA TLAIB

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 15, 2021

  Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I rise today in tribute to Lieutenant 
Colonel Alexander Jefferson, one of the most decorated pilots in 
Michigan, whose heroic service as a Tuskegee Airman in World War II is 
being recognized in a rededication ceremony for Jefferson Field, named 
in his honor in Detroit, Michigan.
  Born in Detroit, Michigan on the 15th of November 1921, Lieutenant 
Colonel Jefferson grew up flying model airplanes in the same field that 
is now named for him. He graduated from Detroit's Chadsey High School 
in Detroit and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Clark College 
in Atlanta, Georgia. He did graduate work in Chemistry at Howard 
University and earned a Master of Science in Education from Wayne State 
University in Detroit.
  Following three months of combat training in Selfridge Field, 
Michigan, Lieutenant Colonel Jefferson graduated from a pilot training 
course at the Tuskegee Army Airfield. He served as a P-51 fighter pilot 
with the Red Tail, 332nd Fighter Group 301st Fighter Squadron in 
Ramitelli, Italy. Over the course of 18 long range escort missions deep 
into enemy territory, he bravely provided protection from vicious enemy 
aircraft. His unit escorted bombers headfirst into the action. They 
never lost a single plane.
  On August 12, 1944, three days before the invasion of Southern 
France, Lieutenant Colonel Jefferson was shot down while firing at 
German radar stations on the coast. He was captured by the Germans and 
kept as a prisoner of war for nine months, ninety miles from Berlin. 
There, he witnessed firsthand the atrocities committed by the Nazis. He 
was liberated by the American forces on the 29th of April 1945 and was 
discharged from active duty in 1947. He retired from the reserves in 
1969 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
  After the end of the war, Lieutenant Colonel Jefferson became an 
elementary school science teacher in Detroit, where he would retire as 
an assistant principal in 1979. A member of various church, 
educational, and alumni organizations, as well as one of the founders 
of the Detroit Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen. He is a member of the 
Tuskegee Airman Speaker Bureau, a life member of the Silver Falcon 
Association, and has served as an Admissions Counselor for the U.S. Air 
Force Academy.
  He has received numerous awards and accolades for his bravery and his 
selfless service for our country, including a Purple Heart Medal, an 
Air Medal, a POW medal, an Air Force Achievement Medal, and many, many 
more. On October 14, 1995, Lieutenant Colonel Jefferson was inducted 
into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame.
  Pleae join me in recognition of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander 
Jefferson on this celebration of his lifelong service to our country.

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